Antifriction-bearing.



No. 703,402, Patented July I, I902.

J. GOTTBREHT.

ANTIFBICTIUN BEARING.

(A lie 'on filed May 23; 1901.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

m @t @WW UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN GOTTBREHT, OF FORMOSO, KANSAS.

ANTlFRlCTlON-BEARING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 703,402, dated July 1, 1902.

Application filed May 23,1901. Serial No. 61,581. (No model.) I

To to whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN GOTTBREHT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Formoso, in the county of Jewell and State of Kansas, have invented a new and useful Antifrict-ion- Bearing, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an antifrictionbearing, and more particularly to that class adapted for supporting heavy shafting intermediate of its ends as opposed to end or thrust bearings.

The object of the invention is in a simple, thoroughly-eftieient, and feasible manner to support a shaft-such as a line-shaft of an engine, mill-wheel, or the likein such manner that the shaft will have no direct contact with its hearings or journals and in which the weight of the shaft will be so transmitted to the antifriction-bearings proper that the frictional resistance of the latter will be reduced to a minimum.

A further object is to provide a simple and efficient means whereby wear or lost motion of the weight-supporting bearings may be readily taken up, thereby to cause the device to be operative under all conditions of. use.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the novel construction and combination of parts of an antifrictionhearing, as will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts, I have exhibited a form of,embodiment of the invention adapted for supporting a hori: Zontal line-shaft, it being understood that the particular manner of arrangement of the parts and the proportions thereof may be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention, and in these drawings- Figure 1 is a view in perspective exhibiting-- an assemblage of mechanism capable of carrying my invention into effect. Fig. 2 is a view in vertical longitudinal section showing more particularly the coactive relation between the parts. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view exhibiting the adjusting mechanism for the step of one of the operating-shafts.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates generally the supporting-frame for the mechnal beams 8, supporting the beams 6.

feet a rigid connection between the supportanisln. The form of frame herein shown is merely illustrative of one form that may be employed, and it is to be understood that in 'practice'the construction of this frame may be changed to meet the requirements of different cases without departing from the spirit of the invention. The frame comprises the bottom sills 2, suitably-connected corner-uprights 3, top, cross, and end beams 4 and 5, and transverse beams'6. The corner-beams are stayed and rendered rigid by cross-braces 7, secured at their respective ends to the sills and to the corner-posts below two longitudi- To efing-beams, sills, and transverse beams, these parts may be connected by notched joints, and bolts or the like may be employed for holding them assembled and also permit ready separation when desired. Upon the beams 5 are supported two hearings or guides 9, in which works a shaft 10, which latter may be a line-shaft of a propeller or the shaft of a water-wheel or a shaft of any heavy piece of machinery to be supported. Working between the beams 6 is the main frictionwheel 11, through which passes a shaft 12, held in operative relation with regard to the beam 6 by journal-boxes 13, secured to the under side of the beams, one half of the bearings for this shaft being in the beam 6 and the other half in the bearings 13, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The bearings 13 merely operate to hold the shaft in proper position with relation to the beams, there being no direct contact between the shaft and the bearings, as will presently appear. The shaft-recesses in the bearings 9 extend below the plane of the wheel 11, as shown in Fig. 1, thereby to permit the shaft 10 to bear directly upon this wheel, and thus cause the wheel to take the entire weight of the shaft. To prevent any slipping of the shaft 10 upon the periphery of the wheel 11, the face of the latter is corrugated, grooved, scored, or otherwise roughened, as shown at 14, so'that bythis means there will be positive contact between the supporting wheel and the shaft 10. The shaft 12 of the main supporting-wheel bears upon tWo wheels 15, the peripheries of which are disposed at right angles to the periphery of the wheel 1]., the upper faces of the wheel being incut or channeled out, as shown at 16, as to present a bearing for the shaft of a width equal to the length of the shaft projecting beyond the bearing 13. The shaftbearing portion 17 of these wheels is grooved, corrugated, or scored in the same manner as the periphery of the wheel 11, so that in opperation there will be no slipping action between the shaft 12 and the wheels 15. The wheels 15 are supported or carried by vertical shafts 18, the upper end of each of which works in a bearing formed in the beams 5, the lower end being tapered to form a pivotbearing 19, the point of which works in aset or adjusting bolt 20, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, the bolt to pass through the side sills 2 to render the connection between the pivot and the adjusting-bolt a stable one. A bearingplate 21 is secured on the upper side of each side sill 2, and through this plate a portion of the pivot-point projects, thus to remove lateral strain from the adjusting-bolt. The connection between the wheels 15 and the shaft 18 maybe an ordinary key connection or a bolt may be passed through the wheels and into the shaft. The particular form of connection between these Wheels and their suppor ing-shafts is immaterial so long as it be a stable one.

In the operation of the device the weight from the shaft 10 is transmitted directly to the wheel 11, and from this wheel through its shaft 12 to the wheels 15, and from these wheels to the pivot-points 19. As the frictional contact between the shaft of the wheel 11 and the wheels 15 is a rolling one, there will be but slight resistance to operation, the weight of the shaft 10, wheel 11, and wheels 15 being borne by the pivot-points of the shaft 18. As these points are small, it will be seen that the friction at the points Where they work in the adjusting-bolts is but very slight, so that wear on the pivots is reduced to a minimum. When wear occurs, the adjustingbolts 20 may be moved up, thus to force the wheels 15 up against the shaft 12 of the wheelll and the latter up against the shaft 10.

As hereinbefore indicated,'the bearings 9 and 13 merely form guard-bearings for the shaft 10 and the wheel 11that is to say, they do not support the weight of these parts, but merely prevent displacement thereof. The actual bearing for the shaft 10 is formed by the top portion of the periphery of the wheel 11, which is projected slightly above the bot tom of the semicircular recesses or bearings formed in the bearing-blocks 9, whereby the weight of the shaft 10 is supported upon the wheel 11, and the bearings 9 serve merely to prevent lateral displacement of the shaft. This is also true with respect to the wheels '11 and 16, as each journal 12 is supported solely upon the adjacent wheel 16, and the guard-bearing 13 serves merely to prevent edgewise displacement of the Wheel 11, and the beams 6 serve to prevent sidewise displacement and upward displacement of the Wheel.

It is to be understood that all of the operative parts herein described may be altered or changed to meet the requirements arising in different cases, and for this reason, as stated, I do not desire to be limited to the exact construction and arrangement shown.

From the foregoing it is thought that the construction, operation, and many advantages of the herein-described invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without further description, and it will be understood that various changes in the size, shape, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

lVhat I claim is 1. The combination with a frame having upper and lower sets of guard-bearings in vertical alinement, of a rotatable shaft seated in the upper set of bearings, a circular vertically-disposed rotatable bearing element in frictional supporting engagement with the under side of the shaft, and having opposite journals carried by and rotatable with the circular element and seated in the lower set of bearings, upstanding rotatable shafts located at opposite sides of the vertically-disposed bearing element and in alinement with the upper and lower sets of bearings, and opposite horizontal bearing elements carried by and rotatable with the respective upstanding shafts, the journals of the vertical bearing element resting in frictional engagement with the upper surfaces of the respective horizontal bearing elements.

2. In a shaft-bearing, the combination with a horizontal rotatable shaft, of a verticallydisposed rotatable wheel bearing against the under side of the shaft to support the same and provided with a journal, and a verticallyadjustable horizontal rotatable wheel bearing against the under side of the journal to form a bearing therefor, whereby the Vertical wheel may be adjusted into supporting engagement with the shaft.

3. In a shaft-bearing, the combination of a vertically-disposed rotatable bearing-Wheel having a journal rotatable therewith, the top portion of the periphery of the wheel forming a bearing to engage the under side of the shaft to be supported, an endWise-adjustable Vertical shaft located at one side of the vertical bearing-wheel,and a horizontal bearing-wheel carried by the shaft and bearing against the under side of the journal to support the same and the vertical Wheel.

1. In a shaft-bearin g, the combination with a frame having a guard-bearing for the shaft to be supported, of a vertically-disposed rotatable wheel having opposite journals loosely mounted in guard -bearings carried by the frame and below the bearing for the shaft, the top portion of the periphery of the wheel being projected above the bottom of the shaft guard-bearing to form a roller-bearing support for the shaft, vertically-disposed endwise-adjustable shafts mounted in the frame at opposite sides of the vertical wheel, and horizontal bearing-wheels carried by the respective shafts and in frictional supporting engagement with the under sides of the respective journals, whereby the vertical bearing-wheel may be adjusted into engagement with the shaft to be supported.

5. An antifriction-bearing comprising a frame carrying bearings, a shaft supported therein, a wheel arranged below the shaft and bearing thereagainst, a shaft passing through the latter wheel and supported by suitable bearings on the frame, two vertically-disposed shafts, one arranged on eachside of the vertically-disposed wheel, horizontally-disposed wheels carried by the said shafts, the upper faces of the wheels being incut to present a rim or flange upon which the ends of the shaft of the vertically-disposed wheel bear, and means for adjusting the vertical shafts whereby to keep the horizontally-disposed wheels in engagement with the shaft ends of the vertically-disposed wheel.

6. An antifriction-bearing comprising a frame carrying bearings, a shaft supported therein, a wheel arranged below the shaft and bearing thereagainst, a shaft passing through the latter wheel and supported by suitable bearings on the frame, two vertically-disposed shafts, one arranged on each side of the vertically-disposed wheel, horizontally-disposed wheels carried by the said shafts, the upper faces of the Wheels being inout to present a rim or flange upon which the ends of the shaft of the verticallydisposed wheel bear, the lower ends of the vertical shafts bein g tapered to present pivot-bearings, and adj ust-able pivot-bearin gs supported by the base of the frame with which the tapered ends of the shafts engage, thereby to adjust the shafts to keep the wheels carried in operative relation to the shaft ends of the vertically-disposed wheel.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN GOTTBREHT.

tVitnesses:

W. C. PosTLETHwAITE, J. A. TEMPLIN. 

